1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to plant seeds coated in biochar and to a method of enhancing the efficacy of plant seed germination and establishment by coating the seeds with biochar prior to planting.
2. Related Art
Biochar has been known for many years as a soil enhancer. Biochar is created by the pyrolysis of biomass, which generally involves heating and/or burning of organic matter, in a reduced oxygen environment, at a predetermined rate. Such heating and/or burning is stopped when the matter reaches a charcoal like stage. The resulting biochar consists of various pieces of residual solid material full of crevices, pores and holes that help store water, microorganisms and other nutrients that promote plant growth. The resulting pyrolyzed biomass will be referred to as “raw or untreated biochar.”
Raw biochar, while known for its soil enhancing characteristics, does not always benefit soil and, depending upon the biomass from which the biochar is produced, could potentially be harmful to the soil, making it unsuitable for various types of crops or other productive uses. In particular, biochar can be detrimental, or even toxic, to 1) soil microbes involved in nutrient transport to the plant; 2) plants and 3) humans. Raw biochars derived from different biomass will have different physical and chemical properties and will behave quite differently. For example, raw biochar having pH levels too high, containing too much ash or inorganics, or containing toxins or heavy metal content too high can be harmful and/or have minimal benefit to the soil and the plant life it supports. Raw biochar can also contain unacceptable levels of residual organic compounds such as acids, esters, ethers, ketones, alcohols, sugars, phenyls, alkanes, alkenes, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyls or poly or mono aromatic hydrocarbons which are either toxic or not beneficial to plant or animal life.
Currently, biochar has mostly been a scientific curiosity, not found wide spread use, not found large scale commercial application, and has been relegated to small niche applications. Due to a strong desire to capture beneficial the soil enhancing characteristic of biochar, biochar research has continued in an attempt to harness biochar having predictable, controllable, and beneficial results as a soil amendment. Given the known benefits of biochar, a need remains for not only (i) a method of producing biochar that can be used in large scale applications and having generally sustainable, controllable and/or particular physical and chemical properties known to have the highest positive impact on soils, but also (ii) applications for biochar that benefit and enhance plant life and growth.